Usually I shoot people in what they wear to the studio.
There is something about street clothes which just works.

But I will need OPTIONS.

So just grab 2 or 3 more things that you actually wear and look good on you.

Aaaaaaand....

2 or 3 shirts which follow the RULES of headshot clothes.
(see below)

But first I will give you a reminder to bring
enough well fitting BRA's, including...

strapless

"push-up"

flesh tone

dark

matching your clothes

It's annoying for me to have to remind you to hide your bra strap every six seconds. Or see some great shots ruined by a strap that sneaks out while we are busy shooting.

So please avoid THIN STRAP singlets altogether.
Believe it or not, Supré have plain singlets with nice broad straps for under $10
that work quite well.
Please don't feel you have to spend a fortune on new clothes.
You don't.

Also keep in mind that you may want to bring some more "covered up" clothes.
Singlets are well and good if your skin is great, and the same colour as your face, but
it's a good idea to bring some more conservative stuff just in case.

And forget scoopy, booby, necklines. The headshot stops above that.
A higher cut works better. If all you have is low-cut, don't stress it.
Rules are made to be broken.

Here are the rules...

Clothing

You want people to look at your face, not your shirt.
Whatever is on your body should not detract attention from your eyes.
It should support the shot, not take over it.

I think a good keyword for clothes is "boring".

No logos.

Avoid large areas of white if possible.

Wear greyish, blueish grey or muted, unsaturated colours...

What is an unsaturated colour???
Grey. Greyish.

Black is ok.
Red is ok.

White can be tricky because it can look a bit "virgin sacrifice"
and it can easily get overexposed and come out pure chalky "blown out" white.

Stripes and patterns can SOMETIMES be ok, but add them to the already established pile of safe conservative stuff.

EXCEPTIONS

Please understand that I hate formulas,
and these rules are made to be broken. But if you want rules to break, that's them!
Of course if we are doing extra character shots,
a "
loser shot", or anything different, those rules are out the window.
If you are young, rebellious, zany, or any one of a million adjectives, surprise me.
If we might shoot a character, bring clothes for that character.
For example, if you play a westie, bring a flanny and a singlet.
If you play a clown... you get the idea. If you think twice... bring it.

What to bring

Eight to fifteen shirts (including dresses, t-shirts and singlets)

Hair product if you want to

Make up if you want to

Plain earrings as well as some more character'y ones

Simple jewellery if you want

Bra's to suit each look

What not to bring

Shoes (not seen in photos)

Pants (not seen in photos)

Belts (not seen in photos)

Heavy coats (too heavy to lug here)

Hats

Sunglasses

Hair Dryer (we have one)

Iron (we have one)

Also if you feel empowered by high shoes, wear them.
If you feel better without shoes, that's fine!
I wear bare feet around the studio,
and you can too if you want to.
This is a good place to remind you that is you are doing a full length, it's against all my
health rants, but the higher the heels, the better the full length figure.

So if you are doing a full length shot... Bring the heels!!!

But in most cases, actors hate the full length shot.
If so, don't bother bringing shoes.

If you come after work, a little make up is forgiveable,
but the hard one for our make up artist is mascara.

Most brands of mascara are REALLY hard to clean off,
and if you have sensitive eyes, it will make it even worse.

So please - NO MASCARA.

Exfoliate your face before you come, if you know how, a few hours before you leave home. This is to remove dry skin which makes an uneven base for make-up.
If you don't have any products available, you can use bicarb soda mixed with a water-based cleanser, or just water.
Fine caster sugar mixed with honey or water should do the trick as well, but be VERY, VERY gentle!
Otherwise your skin will go red.

Then use a moisturiser appropriate to your skin type.

LIPS
Use lip balm. Preferrably one that doesn't contain petrochemicals. If all you have is Vaseline, that's better than nothing.
Once again this helps avoid dry skin.

READ THIS SECTION IF YOU ARE DOING YOUR OWN MAKE UP

Natural, day time make-up is best for headshots.
However, keep in mind that the flashes and camera will weaken the effect of your make-up by up to 50%,
so apply it slightly heavier. Even better is to come with make up on, but bring the products so you can re-apply here if necessary.
If getting a make up artist to do your make up, it is suicide to not have some of their colour of lipstick for touch ups.
Do not try new tricks or colors, just do whatever you know works for you.